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Department of Agriculture, U.S. 
Information relative to the 
tion of ticks in Alabama. 




62d Congress, > SENATE. j Document 

1st Session. \ \ No. 47. 







ERADICATION OF CATTLE TICKS IN ALABAMA. 



LETTER 

FROM 

THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE, 

TRANSMITTING 

INFORMATION IN RESPONSE TO SENATE RESOLUTION OF MAY 11, 
1911, RELATIVE TO THE ERADICATION OF CATTLE TICKS IN 
THE STATE OF ALABAMA. 



June 14, 1911. — Referred to the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry and ordered 

to be printed. 



Department of Agriculture, 

Office of the Secretary, 

Washington, June 13, 1911. . 
To the President of the Senate : 

Referring to Senate resolution dated May 11, 1911, I have the 
honor to transmit herewith, by direction of the President, a memo- 
randum setting forth in detail the operations of this department in 
the eradication of cattle ticks in the State of Alabama. 
Very respectfully, 

James Wilson, 
Secretary of Agriculture. 



STATEMENT OF TICK ERADICATION IN ALABAMA. 

In the year 1906, when this department undertook the work of tick 
eradication in Alabama, it was considered advisable to begin in the 
area north of the Tennessee River on account of that section being 
adjacent to the area where ticks had already been eliminated. At 
that time there was no adequate State law under which the work could 
be successfully prosecuted, and no State funds were available for that 
purpose. However, the outlook was good for favorable action by the 
legislature at the coming session, and therefore considerable work was 
done by this department in the counties of Limestone and Madison, 



2 ERADICATION OF CATTLE TICKS IN ALABAMA. 

with the view of ascertaining general conditions, locating infection, 
and creating an interest in order that an active campaign might be 
taken up during the following spring. 

From May 1 to August 31, 1907, from five to eight persons were 
employed by the department in Limestone and Madison Counties, and 
tick eradication was pushed until September 1 of that year, when it 
was necessary to withdraw on account of the action of the Alabama 
Legislature, which practically annulled the good results which might 
have followed the expenditure by the department of approximately 
$3,600. This act of the legislature made the State live stock sanitary 
law inoperative in all counties in which a maj ority of the area was not 
under stock law. 

The State veterinarian then requested that cooperative work be 
taken up in the black belt in the south-central portion, representing 
that a stock law had been in force in that section for many years 
and that the conditions were favorable for tick eradication. How- 
ever, no employees of the department were detailed to that section 
until the following spring. Since the spring of 1908 the depart- 
ment has also done tick eradication in the counties of Butler, Dallas, 
Elmore, Jackson, Lauderdale, Limestone, Lowndes, Madison, Ma- 
rengo, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, Sumter, and Wilcox, 
as follows: 

Butler County. — Educational work was conducted for a period of 
five days during November, 1909, at an expense to the department 
of $42.55 with a view to creating an interest in tick eradication 
and later extending the work in that direction. However, this has 
not yet been done and the cattle are not free from ticks. 

Dallas County. — At the instance of the State veterinarian coopera- 
tive work in tick eradication was taken up with the local authorities 
on May 11, 1908, and has continued, and at the close of April 30, 1911, 
$11,357.62 had been expended by the department. The work done 
during the year 1908 was largely educational and demonstrative. 
Since that time systematic inspections have been conducted to ascer- 
tain the conditions and get the cattle disinfected. While the results 
have not been entirely satisfactory on account of the failure of the 
local authorities to control the movement of cattle throughout the 
year by enforcing the State laws and regulations, yet much good has 
been accomplished and the work is progressing fairly well, but the 
cattle are not yet all free from ticks. 

Elmore County. — Cooperative work in tick eradication was taken 
up with the local authorities on March 1, 1909, and has continued, 
and up to April 30, 1911, $8,270.11 had been expended by the depart- 
ment. This consisted in educational and demonstration work, and 
inspections to ascertain the conditions and get the cattle systematic- 
ally disinfected. The progress has not been entirely satisfactory on 
account of the failure of the local authorities to control the movement 
of cattle throughout the year by enforcing the State laws and regu- 
lations. However, much good has been accomplished, but the cattle 
are not yet all free from ticks. 

Jackson County. — Because of the desirability of eradicating ticks 
from this section on account of its location adjacent to the nonquar- 
antined area, representatives of the department have visited this 
county from time to time between September 1, 1910, and April 30, 



ERADICATION OF CATTLE TICKS IN ALABAMA. 6 

1911, at an expense of $565.85, to confer with the county officials and 
cattle owners and do educational work to create an interest in tick 
eradication. On account of the free range condition and the opposi- 
tion on the part of many cattle owners to the control of their cattle, 
regular cooperative work has not yet been taken up in this county 
and the cattle are not free from ticks. The opposition is being over- 
come as a result of the educational work, and it is expected that the 
people will soon be ready for cooperative tick eradication. 

Lauderdale County. — Because of the desirability of eradicating ticks 
from this section on account of its location adjacent to the non- 
quarantined area, representatives of the department have visited this 
county from time to time between September 1, 1910, and April 30, 
1911 , at an expense of $551.70, to confer with the county officials and 
cattle owners and do educational work to create an interest in tick 
eradication. On account of the free range condition and the oppo- 
sition on the part of many cattle owners to the control of the move- 
ment of cattle regular cooperative work has not yet been taken up 
in the county, and the cattle are not free from ticks. The opposition 
is rapidly subsiding, and it is expected the people will soon be ready 
for cooperative tick eradication. 

Limestone County. — Representatives of the department have vis- 
ited the county from time to time since September 1, 1910, to confer 
with the county officials and cattle owners and do educational work. 
Cooperative work was taken up on March 1, 1911, and the county 
authorities appointed four inspectors, and one representative of the 
department was assigned to this county. However, at the meeting 
of the county commissioners on April 1, 1911, petitions were pre- 
sented protesting against the continuation of tick eradication. The 
services of the county inspectors were then discontinued and the rep- 
resentative of the department was therefore withdrawn. The cattle 
are not free from ticks. The expense incurred by the department 
was $964.47. 

Lowndes County. — At the instance of the State veterinarian cooper- 
ative work in tick eradication was taken up with the local authorities 
on May 1, 1908. During that year educational and demonstration 
work was done. In the spring of 1909 systematic inspections were 
begun to ascertain the conditions and get the cattle disinfected. 
The results have not been satisfactory on account of the opposition 
to the control of the movement of cattle and the failure of the local 
authorities to enforce the State laws and regulations. During the 
fall of 1910 the county commissioners discontinued the services of 
the local inspectors and permitted cattle to run at large, and local 
inspectors have not been reappointed. Cooperative work was there- 
fore discontinued. Much good has been accomplished, but the cattle 
are not all free from ticks. The expense incurred by the department 
was $10,428.37. 

Madison County. — Cooperative tick eradication was taken up with 
the local authorities on March 1, 1910, and has continued at an 
expense to the department of $3,724.37 up to April 30, 1911. The 
cattle have not all been freed from ticks, but satisfactory progress 
has been made. 

Marengo County. — At the instance of Hon. George W. Taylor, 
Member of Congress, and cattle owners, educational and demonstra- 



4 ERADICATION" OP CATTLE TICKS IN ALABAMA. 

tion work was done from July 20 to November 30, 1909, and from 
April 1 to May 31, 1910, at an expense of $853.68 to the department, 
but systematic inspections and disinfection of the cattle were not 
taken up and continued for the reason that the local authorities did 
not see fit to take the necessary action to control the movement of 
cattle throughout the year. The cattle are not free from ticks. 

■ Monroe County. — Educational and demonstration work was done 
for a period of i3 days during January, 1909, at an expense to the 
department of $123.97, with a view to creating an interest in tick 
eradication and extending the work in that direction. Systematic 
cooperative work has not yet been taken up, and the cattle are not 
free from ticks. 

Montgomery County. — The work in this county has been under the 
immediate direction of State representatives. However, representa- 
tives of the department have visited the county from time to time 
since the spring of 1908 to ascertain the conditions and assist in the 
work at an expense of $2,455.53. The cattle are not yet all free from 
ticks. 

Perry County. — Educational and demonstration work was done in 
this county from January 20 to February 28, 1909, and from April 1 
to November 15, 1910, at an expense to the department of $2,088.90. 
Systematic cooperative work has not yet been taken up with the 
local authorities, but considerable good has been accomplished. The 
cattle are not free from ticks. 

Pickens County. — Educational and demonstration work was done 
in the portion of this county west of the Tombigbee Eiver for a period 
of seven days during November, 1910, at an expense to the depart- 
ment of $76.35, with a view to inducing the cattle owners to eradi- 
cate ticks and have that section ready for release from quarantine by 
the time the adjacent territory in Mississippi will be ready. The 
cattle are not free from ticks. 

Sumter County. — At the instance of Hon. R. P. Hobson, Member 
of Congress, and cattle owners, cooperative tick eradication was 
taken up with the local authorities on July 1, 1909, and has been 
continued at an expense to the department of approximately $6,500 
up to April 30, 1911. The work has been considerably hampered 
by the opposition of some of the citizens to the control of the move- 
ment of the cattle throughout the year. However, a majority of the 
county commissioners have taken an active interest in tick eradica- 
tion and have used their best eiforts to have the State laws and regu- 
lations relating to this work enforced. All the cattle are not free 
from ticks, but fair progress has been made. 

Wilcox County. — At the instance of the State veterinarian coopera- 
tive tick eradication was taken up with the local authorities on 
June 1, 1908, and continued until August, 1910, at an expense to 
the department of $9,103.47. Cooperative work was discontinued 
for the reasons that the local authorities did not see fit to take the 
necessary action to enforce the State laws and regulations for the 
control of the movement of cattle throughout the year and dis- 
continued the services of their inspectors. The cattle are not free 
from ticks, but the conditions are improved. 



ERADICATION OF CATTLE TICKS IN" ALABAMA. 5 

The following is a list of the persons now employed by the depart- 
ment in tick eradication in the State of Alabama, showing the counties 
to which they are assigned, the States from which appointed, the 
salaries paid, and the expenses allowed: 



Counties. 


Names. 


Appointed from — 


Salary 

per 
annum. 


Expenses allowed. 




Dr. J. E. Bender 

Dr. A. E. Zumwalt. .. 

Dr. E. E. Parker 

Dr. J. P. Bushong 

Dr. R. A. Stephens. . . 
Dr. G. A. Handley 


Ohio 


$1, 600 

1,400 
1,400 
1,400 
1,600 
1,400 
1,400 
1,400 
1125 


Actual traveling expenses 
and subsistence while away 
from official station. 
Do. 


Do 








Do. 




New Jersey 

Ohio 


Do. 


Do 


Do. 


Sumter 


do 


Do. 


Do 


Dr. E. B. Shaw 

Dr. Sid Gait... 




Do. 


Do 




Do. 




Wm. Youngblood 




Do. 


derdale. 







1 Per month. 



o 



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